gerber vs. homemade baby food

So last weekend as I was mashing avocados at a diner while eating breakfast with my in-laws, my suegra asked why we weren't feeding Soluna Gerber baby food. She said it was made especially for babies. Of course, I didn't know it at the time. Unfortunately, "No habla Espanol!" ... I know, I suck. I really wish that I hadn't made the horrible decision to learn German in high school. Now, I am at a conversational disadvantage. I am reliant on Benji's translations that often come way after the conversation is over, sometimes in the car on the way home, or don't happen at all if he doesn't feel like it or doesn't want me to know what the heck is going on.

In response to the Gerber question, that I was pretty ready to answer, Benji must have mumbled something about how it was cheaper to make homemade food. Which is true, but only part of the reason why we have chosen to make our own food. Okay, not to bust out my Super Baby Food book again, but fresh homemade baby foods will always have fresh ingredients, will not contain extra salt or preservatives and is more food and less water. I found more information on this topic right here.

The other night I dragged Benji to Manzanita Restaurant, which is literally around the corner from our home. It's a macrobiotic vegan spot and I REALLY love it. I forgot how good a plain steamed sweet carrot tasted or how mung beans can be so rich in flavor. We have become so out of touch from the simple pleasures of simple foods. It is so nice and refreshing to have a plate full of food that hasn't been overly spiced or overly processed. My point is... Why can't it be natural to eat less food from boxes and jars? Shouldn't we all be eating more "whole foods" and wouldn't it be nice to see real fruits and vegetables more often? Especially for our littlest ones, isn't it better to go more natural. I think this is how it should be for me and for Soluna... and Benji, if he wants.

Lifestyle changes. God help me, I'm becoming a brown hippie! (More about my hippie-ness later. I have some mama confessions.)

GERBER

VS.
HOMEMADE

okay, neither looks appetizing... but you gotta taste for yourself!

this kid can eat...

I was hoping to slowly transition Soluna into eating solid foods, despite grandparental pressure on both sides to give her anything she looked slighty interested in as early as 2 months. (Including Ritz Crackers, which my mama intuition thinks is way to salty for a baby.) Soluna is letting us know she wants solids. She's practically yelling "I'm ready to eat!!" She's mooching off my plate, whiny at any mealtime until we give her a taste, opening her mouth wide when we offer her a spoonful of her starter foods (rice cereal, banana, avocado and sweet potatoes), and grabs the spoon to feed herself.

I love it! Where did she get this love of food?! jajajaja..

I've been reading Super Baby Food, the book that is recommended in most every mama circle I am in. It's definitely thorough, but borderline TMI on food safety. I want to make all Soluna's baby food. But we'll have to wait and see how it goes. My mom wants to make her arroz caldo. Yum! But for some reason, these books don't cover safe baby versions of "ethnic" foods. Hah! I guess we're going to have to trust the experience of grandparents.

Here is a video of Soluna eating her first solids a few weeks ago.